


for every universe, there was me & you

by eireneos



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, I suck at summaries I'm sorry, I think I mentioned beomjun too many times here, Light Angst, M/M, inspired by sookai vlive playing piano, it was music who connects the two together, its like time travelling, kai ethereal we all know, soobin experiment, sookai hates destiny, taebin living in the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:21:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29960859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eireneos/pseuds/eireneos
Summary: Taehyun convinces Soobin to try out his new invention, only to discover forgotten memories that are far from his reality.ORSookai in different worlds - unraveling the story of why Soobin's life is connected to Hueningkai's.---*inspired by the song: a soulmate who wasn't meant to be*
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin/Huening Kai, Huening Kai/Kang Taehyun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	for every universe, there was me & you

_**Planet XTX030419 - Year 2030** _

Soobin settles himself in the reclined chair, fiddling with his fingers as a way to relieve the uneasiness settling in the pit of his stomach. He looks around the lab once again, feeling like this has happened before, but quickly dismissing the thought.

His world is far different from Earth, he remembers the name of the planet mentioned in their history class. Their professor explained that there were multiple universes out there, yet nobody had ever been successful in travelling from one universe to the other. Even time travelling hasn’t been established on their planet despite their abundant resources and intelligence. Maybe the concept of space and time is far more complex than what humans have thought it would be.

In his world, humans and bots live alongside each other. Calls and texts were changed into hologram messages, and yes, flying cars do exist on his planet. His world purely relies on technology, not a single trace of natural resources. Even water was formed through their machineries, and the flowers never wilt nor does it bloom, as it was all artificially made.

The thought saddened Soobin, he wonders why his world is obsessed with a world bearing nothing but technology. He had secretly watched movies made from the planet Earth. It was illegal content of course, they weren’t allowed to interact with any material that is not a part of their world.

Only the government and professionals, like scientists, were allowed. Being the little rebel that he is, was able to get ahold of a hundred copies sent to him through his laptop, paying the hacker a week of his allowance, but he believes it was worth it.

He watched all the movies with Taehyun, both of them indulging in the illegal content with wide, awestruck eyes, amazed by the beauty of the planet Earth. Soobin wishes their world had color-painted skies instead of a sky filled with screens, only changing the color to match the time on their watches. He also wished they had beautiful sceneries, luscious lands with mountains and valleys, or the sun glimmering through the surface of the sea.

Soobin couldn’t find a word to describe the feeling, but it was something that he longed for, something impossible to find in their planet.

“Hyung, are you ready?” Taehyun asked, coming over to check on Soobin’s pulse, before writing something on his clipboard.

Soobin gulped, not quite sure why he even agreed in the first place. He does not know a single thing about what they’re about to do, even when Taehyun had explained it to him multiple times. He believes that he stopped listening when he heard numbers, he hates math.

“Hyung? I know you’re scared, but nothing bad is going to happen, it’ll feel like you’re just dreaming.” Taehyun assured, trying to gain the attention of his best friend, who looks like he’s one second away from having a nervous breakdown.

“You probably won’t even remember most of it, maybe glimpses, but never the entire dream.” Taehyun added, trying to ease the tension-filled atmosphere.

“Let’s just get this over with, before I change my mind.” Soobin rushed out, closing his eyes as he leaned on the reclining chair. He thinks his nerves wouldn’t calm down anytime soon, so it’s better to get over with it before he even chickens out and his best friend teasing him will be the death of him.

“Okay take a deep breath for me hyung, then count to ten, or five.” Taehyun said, so soobin immediately complied.

Taking a deep breath, he felt Taehyun cover his eyes with his tech-gear, before covering Soobin’s mouth with a mask which he believes is something close to a ventilator machine, only for a different purpose.

The mask was suddenly filled with a thin layer of chemical which Soobin definitely knows isn’t oxygen. He panics for a moment, wanting to open his eyes, but a gentle hand stops him.

“Hyung, it won’t kill you, it’s basically air induced with sedatives. I’m here, don’t worry.” Taehyun gently answered, soothing his best friend by softly stroking a hand on the elder’s hair. Soobin relaxed at the action, completely trusting his best friend.

“Now count to five with me hyung.” Taehyun whispered.

_Five.._

_Four.._

_Three.._

_Two.._

_One.._

The first thing that filled his senses was the soft piano music playing in the background.

It made his head hurt, maybe this is not his type of genre considering that he wanted to pound his head on the wall for how much it’s hurting him. It was like a foreboding song played by the instruments of his life.

He opens his eyes, rubbing his eyes before looking at the place. It looked magnificent; a golden chandelier with crystals hanging at the edges adorned the middle of the ceiling, gold-plated walls with marbled floors covered the whole room, and the place was huge, more than a hundred people could probably fit inside.

He momentarily looked down and saw himself wearing white pleated trousers, a white ruffled long sleeve tucked underneath, with a red coat decorated with gold lacing and gold epaulettes on his shoulders. He looked around and everyone was also wearing similar garments as his, only in different colors and designs, with women dressed in extravagant ball gowns and other men, wearing tunics.

“My prince, you came.” a voice behind him had said. He swiftly turned around to see a beautiful man walking towards him, who was wearing a light yellow ensemble, with a royal mantle colored in a deep shade of blue. The man was smiling, looking brighter than the light of the chandelier had even provided.

“My love, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Soobin replied, wanting to kiss the younger man’s hand, but refrained from doing so, afraid of the consequences it would bring.

The younger prince smiled back, and Soobin had swore his heart would flip out of his chest at the sight. He would be willing to conquer all lands, if anyone ever attempts to remove the smile on his lover’s face.

He was too distracted to notice that the said prince had been tugging on the elder’s coat, covering his mouth to whisper on the other’s ear.

“Meet me at the fountain by the gardens in twenty minutes. I’ll be waiting.” he whispered, the air coming out from the younger’s lips seemingly bringing Soobin in a daze, unconsciously nodding his head, and the younger took that as a yes, moving away and sent a wink at the elder, before heading past the people waltzing in the middle of the room.

He aimlessly walked around the room, mingling with the other guests. Today was the king’s birthday, his father to be specific. Everyone from the village and from conquered lands were invited, bearing gifts in chances of galvanizing the king, and some, offering their daughter to be wedded to his son and soon to be king, Soobin.

He scoffed at that, his father and the rest of the village, unaware that his lover, Hueningkai, a prince from the lands where they formed an alliance, was waiting at the fountain by the gardens. Who knew what his father could do, with all the power that he holds, if he ever discovers that his son is in love with a prince just like him.

Twenty minutes seem agonizingly long, soobin realized. Rushing out of the palace to head off to the garden. The garden of the palace was a gift from the king to the queen, his mother. A sign of the king’s love to the queen, Soobin thinks that he got his romantic side from his mother, as the woman is an embodiment of love, teaching him to always be kind. But he guesses some part of him came from his father too, when he found out that the king made the garden to serve as a safe haven for both of them, far away from the political clashes and war outside the walls of their kingdom.

He wanders inside the garden, picking out beautiful flowers that remind him of his lover. The garden looked beautiful in the daylight - the trees bearing fruits, the flowers beautifully blooming at the aid of the sun, and the grass as green as the color of his mother’s eyes.

But Soobin loves how the garden looks at night - the soft humming of the breeze, singing a lullaby as the leaves of the trees swayed to the rhythm. The flowers somehow looked magnificent under the moonlight, and especially his lover - whose face seemed to be kissed by a dozen stars, eyes gleaming with tenderness and contentment.

“You’re five minutes early, my love.” Hueningkai said, approaching the elder with one of his hands held out for the other to take.

Soobin happily took it, clasping their hands together, before pulling his lover in a warm embrace. One which both had been longing for the whole day of being apart. He tries to remember the feeling, how vulnerable yet liberating it feels, to love Hueningkai out here in the open, for the whole village to see, only if they looked hard enough.

Soobin pulled away, showing the younger prince the flowers that he picked along the way. The poorly made bouquet elicited a laugh from his lover, seemingly making the flowers look livelier than it had been.

The couple sat at the edge of the fountain, admiring the reflection of the moon by the flowing waters of the fountain. The two didn’t speak, simply being together was more than enough for the both of them. As the silence grew longer, the sound of the soft piano music inside the palace can be heard, and soobin thought that it would be a wonderful idea to ask the younger to dance with him.

Hueningkai’s arms rested by the elder’s chest, with soobin wrapping both arms by the younger’s waist. They slowly danced to the rhythm, the moonlight following their movements, the flowers swaying along, it all felt enchanting.

Soobin wishes to stay here forever, in the arms of his lover. He would like the whole world to know that this man had captured his heart, placed it inside a treasure chest and threw away the key, and now the younger’s heart is a prisoner in Soobin’s dungeon, sealed with a promise of boundless love and protection.

He closes his eyes, trying to capture the moment in his mind. It was difficult, he realizes, to put in detail of such an unfathomable feeling, so he decides to relish the time that they have, embedding the feeling of his lover’s warmth within his heart.

Although they were out for more than an hour, it only felt like they’ve been together for a minute. But their little world was shattered into two, when the younger prince started to lean in and whisper in his ear. 

“My father found out.”

“What?” Soobin stopped dancing, reluctantly moving away from his lover’s embrace.

Hueningkai stepped back, wrapping his arms around himself as he tried to let the words out before it was too late. Soobin, who’s still standing still, dropped the bouquet of flowers, the headache that he felt earlier was slowly coming back.

“We’re leaving the kingdom. Far away from here, far away from you. I can’t tell you where, I’m so sorry.” Hueningkai bit back a sob, looking away from the elder prince as his piercing gaze felt unbearable to see.

“I won’t let you. There’s still a way. I’m sure of it.” Soobin replied, finally finding the courage to speak. He walked towards the younger prince, lifting his hand to cup his lover’s cheek.

“My love, please don’t go.. don’t leave me.” Soobin pleaded, seeking the other’s eyes to look at him. He felt like he was holding a thread too thin, grasping it with all his might, afraid that if he lets go, his lover will disappear too.

“You do not understand!” Hueningkai cried out, releasing all the pent up emotions that he had been hiding the whole day. He removes the hand resting on his cheek, turning away once again from the elder.

“I either leave or we both die, and I do not wish death upon my lover.” Hueningkai firmly said, feeling like his heart is shattering into a million pieces in his chest, the shards inflicting pain all throughout his body.

“Run away with me.” Soobin desperately replied, trying to twist the invisible thread to tie it on both of his arms. He refuses to let such love go, he is painfully aware that he will never be able to experience it again.

“Let’s leave this forsaken land and never come back.” Soobin still persuades the younger, pulling on the thread as hard as he can.

“That is such a childish idea.” was Hueningkai’s reply. Forcing the elder to look at him, with heartbreak written all over his face. The elder’s hold on the thread loosened a little, and before Soobin could think of a reply, Hueningkai had already come with one of his own.

“Even if we run away, they will only hunt us down.” Hueningkai tried to make the elder prince understand. They were fighting a losing battle, a war which they could never win.

“Did you forget that your father, a king, is a powerful one? Known from all lands. One message from the kingdom and the whole world will happily bring us back here, with only our heads as their prized possession in exchange for gold.” Hueningkai added, the look of defeat placed on his shoulders.

The two were met with silence, this time, the silence felt unbearable. It wasn’t the usual silence shared between the two, one filled with whispered affection and assurances. No, this one was filled with nothing but anguish.

Hueningkai sighed, wiping away the tears that lingered on both of his cheeks, before moving to wrap his arms on the older. For the last time, Hueningkai promised.

“I love you, my prince. Until forever ends, it will always be you.” Hueningkai whispered, and it settled within the elder, the underlying meaning behind his lover’s words crawled towards his spine.

No matter how much he holds, wraps and pulls on the invisible, thin thread, their cruel fate unfortunately holds the scissors, detangling and severing all the remnants of the love that they shared.

“Hyung?”

“Hyung, wake up!”

“I swear if you don’t wake up right now, I’m dragging your ass out of this apartment!”

Soobin didn’t know what all the fuss was about, but whoever was trying to wake him up should shut up before he kicks the person’s ass.

“Hyung, I really hope your dumb ass didn’t forget that we have a rehearsal dinner to attend to!”

The last sentence woke Soobin up. Shit, he completely forgot that they were supposed to attend the wedding rehearsal dinner tonight. He opens his eyes and abruptly stands, before sitting back down as he felt dizzy from the sudden movement.

“Finally, you have twenty minutes to get ready, I’ll wait outside hyung!” Soobin looked up to see Taehyun waving a hand at him, before going out of their apartment. He thought that sharing an apartment with his best friend was a good idea, well he definitely regrets it now. They were complete opposites, with Taehyun acting like his mother when it comes to chores and tidying the room. He has no choice with the matter though, as apartments in Seoul are quite pricey, especially when both of them had only started working last year.

Soobin grumpily stood up, hastily taking a shower and dressed in his navy blue suit, brushing his hair a few times and sprayed his favorite cologne, before running out to meet his best friend by the parking lot.

Once both men were seated inside the car, they immediately headed off to the venue. His head still hurts, as he tried to recollect some of his memories from his dream. He didn’t know why, but his dreams were often blurred and sometimes weird, waking up with nothing to remember except for pieces of what he deems useless, considering the fact that they were just dreams, definitely far from reality. He just hated waking up with a dull headache.

Soobin parked the car at the front of the fancy looking restaurant, reserved by his cousin, Choi Beomgyu. The outside though was nothing compared to the interior design - everything looked grand, with silver chandeliers hanging on the high ceiling, there were also two winding stairs on both ends of the restaurant, with the marbled walls covered with various paintings. The tables and chairs were decorated with white table sheets and a gold table runner adorned with white lace as the design. Everyone were wearing suits and cocktail dresses, following the color code of navy blue and beige.

Of course he shouldn’t be surprised, this was his cousin, the Choi Beomgyu, who wanted nothing but the best, and he of course, deserves everything the world could offer, Soobin thought. They walk further inside the restaurant, greeting some relatives and friends, before sitting down on the seat with a “reserved” card in the middle of the table, next to the white and blue roses placed in a crystal vase.

He couldn’t believe that his favorite cousin will get married tomorrow. The whole process of planning the wedding stressed him out, being in the position of one of the “best man” for the wedding. Truth be told, he has never seen Beomgyu so panicked before as he did now, going through every detail just to accomplish his dream wedding. He guesses that love can really make you go crazy, well in his cousin's case, crazier.

On the other hand, the other groom and one of his closest friends, Choi Yeonjun, couldn’t care less about the extravagance of the event, the guy is just hopelessly in love with Beomgyu and wants to marry his cousin right away. The pair was quite entertaining during college, with Yeonjun shamelessly flirting with his cousin and Beomgyu just seemingly ignoring all the elder’s advances.

It was during their third year in college, when Soobin and Taehyun were surprised to see his cousin and their friend walking through the hallways together, with Beomgyu wearing Yeonjun’s varsity jacket and their friend Yeonjun, wearing the biggest smile on his face as his arm was draped over the other’s shoulders.

The couple had been inseparable since, he remembers that night when he asked Beomgyu about it, and his cousin looked so flustered for the first time, struggling to form words on how Choi Yeonjun became his boyfriend. So he asked Yeonjun instead, when the two hung out to play video games, and Soobin swore that the guy was whipped, explaining in full detail how he fell in love with Beomgyu and how he was able to win the younger’s heart, while his eyes looked like stars in the night.

Now here they are, finally getting married tomorrow. He can see how much they loved each other, and although Soobin is sick of all the public display of affection, he was genuinely thankful that the world has given his cousin and his best friend a love that they could look forward to every single day.

“I was seriously about to pick the both of you up myself, I was worried my dearest cousin would be late in one of the most important events in my life, you know?” Beomgyu came into view, holding two champagne glasses and offered them to the two.

“Trust me, hyung! He sleeps like a rock, I could blast music into all our speakers and he wouldn’t even wake up.” Taehyun answered, taking a sip of the champagne. Soobin rolled his eyes, standing up to hug his cousin and sat back down, eyeing both men in front of him with mischief.

“Both of you are so dramatic, no wonder you guys broke up in highschool.” Soobin retorted, feeling satisfied as Taehyun’s cheeks turned into a pinkish hue, while his cousin choked on the champagne. Before any of them could strangle Soobin, another person joined the conversation.

“Who broke up?” Yeonjun asked as he came to pat his  fiancé’s back. Soobin looked at Beomgyu smugly, enjoying the taste of victory.

“Nobody broke up. Soobin hyung is being an asshole, as usual.” Taehyun bit back, deciding to end the conversation there as he stood up to hug Yeonjun.

Before Soobin could even reply, the tapping of a mic made all of them look in front, seeing his uncle happily beginning the program. The couple bid their goodbye, walking in front to start the celebration with their speech. Soobin settled in his seat, thinking that tonight will be a long one.

The whole event was a success, everyone seemed to be having fun, dancing at the center with the band playing love songs. He was too tired to join the others from dancing, he had been going around and talking to everyone nonstop. He would rather stay at home and watch movies, but he wanted to at least try and socialize since it is his cousin and best friend’s rehearsal dinner.

He decided to go to the bathroom to wash his hands, taking his sweet time as he was afraid of going out and one of their relatives would strike a conversation again. After five minutes of drying his hands, he thinks he was being unreasonable at this point, but he didn’t mind, looking at the mirror to fix his hair.

But then he heard the soft melody of the piano, the song somehow sounded so familiar, but he didn’t know the title of it. The song was beautifully painful, and Soobin was feeling a mix of emotions as he clutched his chest, feeling his heart ache.

“What the hell?” Soobin gasped out, focusing on breathing in and out. He stumbles outside the bathroom, feeling a bit dazed from the music playing. He was in the far corner of the dancefloor, attempting to sneak a glimpse of the one playing the piano.

Too many people were blocking his view, so he walked right in the middle of the dancefloor, his heartbeat growing faster, and his hands turned clammy out of nervousness. He tried to gently push away those who were in his way, determined to find out why he was so drawn to the person playing the piano.

He was close enough to see the person’s hands - it looked soft, one that could provide limitless comfort, oddly the hands that Soobin wanted to hold, and he didn’t know why. He stopped walking, admiring the person’s slender fingers dancing through the keys of the piano. It was ridiculous of him to pay close attention to one’s hands, but he was too absorbed in admiring them to even scold himself for staring.

Soobin wanted to know how the person playing the piano looked like, wondered how someone can play the piano and let out so many emotions, stringing their listeners to the feelings he brought. He held his breath, looking up and -

_ POP! _

He looked up to see the confetti flying around the dancefloor, with some landing on his hair. Everyone was cheering, clapping, tapping their forks on their glasses and some were even jumping from their seats. He looked at the stage to see Beomgyu and Yeonjun wrapped together in a loving kiss.

Beomgyu pulled away in a daze, staring lovingly at his groom. Soobin chuckled, muttering ‘whipped’ under his breath, seeing how Yeonjun leaned in for another kiss, not caring if they were being watched by their family members.

He looked back at the side to see the stool by the piano empty. Similarly like how he was feeling when he discovers that he might never see that person again, he feels empty.

“Hyung? Ready to head home? Party is over.” Taehyun appeared beside him, tugging on the elder’s arm so they could start moving.

As they were inside the car, with Taehyun talking about the events of tonight, he felt guilty for not listening. His thoughts were focused on the person who was playing the piano at Beomgyu and Yeonjun’s wedding rehearsal. He should have asked for the name from his cousin, but he was so confused with the situation, only snapping back from reality when Taehyun was dangling the car keys in front of his face.

He hopes that he’ll be able to sleep peacefully tonight, but he surely doubts it.

  
  



End file.
